Hand-dipped ice cream has been a favorite frozen food product throughout this country for many years. Typically, ice cream parlors will store three-gallon tubs of ice cream within a freezer unit, with the tubs open on top to permit dipping of the ice cream. While such freezers permit easy access to a wide variety of ice cream containers, there are several problems with the conventional freezer arrangement.
Typical ice cream freezer cabinets contain a plurality of three gallon ice cream tubs arranged horizontally within a generally rectangular cabinet, with every ice cream container supported on the bottom of the cabinet, such that all of the different flavors may be viewed from above. Typically, the conventional cabinet locates the lower end of each ice cream container about eight inches above floor level. While such an arrangement exposes all of the varieties of ice cream flavors to visual inspection, an individual must lean over and down into the freezer in order to dip the ice cream. The position required to scoop the ice cream is awkward, can strain the back muscles, and must be repeated frequently.
In order to reduce injuries, it is typical for these standard ice cream cabinets to be set with a bottom temperature which is warm enough to permit ease of scooping at the lower end of the container. However, this causes the top and middle of the container to be at a temperature which is too warm, creating a great yield loss of ice cream. When the ice cream is stored at a temperature which is too warm, the ice cream loses air cell retention, and thus loses volume. In a conventional cabinet, set with the bottom temperature to permit easy scooping, it is not uncommon to have a loss of 20%-30% of each bulk can of ice cream, or approximately 5-7 pints of a three gallon bulk can.
If the temperature at the bottom of the ice cream container is maintained at a level is which permits ease of scooping, then the upper level temperature of surrounding containers is too warm, and the ice cream becomes too soft to maintain its shape. Because the ice cream is typically accessed by raising the entire cabinet lid, all of the ice cream containers are exposed to warm air when one flavor in the cabinet is dipped.
Another problem with conventional ice cream freezer arrangements is the position required to scope the ice cream. In most cases, the individual must lean over and down into the freezer to dip the ice cream. Such a position can strain the back, and therefore cause injuries to workers.
Finally, conventional ice cream freezers take a large amount of floor space to maintain a variety of ice cream flavors adjacent one another and accessible for dipping.